Super Tuesday 2016: Live Updates and Analysis

Today is a critical day as voters in a total of 12 states and 1 territory cast their ballots for who they believe should be their party's presidential nominee. Super Tuesday will be winnowing the presidential field -- possibly ending a campaign for some -- or helping a dark horse gain momentum. Keep checking back for updates as the ABC News political team reports on Super Tuesday.

“While Democrats have seen turnout drop across the board, the record number of Republicans who have gone to the polls in each state shows the country is ready for change after eight years of failed leadership from President Obama," reads the statement from Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus released tonight. "Democrats simply aren’t being energized by Hillary Clinton’s calculated campaign to maintain the status quo or Bernie Sanders’ fringe calls for a socialist ‘revolution.'

“The Democrat Primary has become a race to the far left between an embattled frontrunner facing an FBI investigation and a self-avowed socialist who continues to win states and outraise the Clinton machine. At the end of the day, Democrats are saddled with two fundamentally flawed candidates destined to fail in a general election and a message that isn’t resonating or in line with the majority of Americans.”

by Veronica.Stracqualursi3/2/2016 3:13:18 AM

Ben Carson: 'I Am Not Ready to Quit'

ABC's KATHERINE FAULDERS: He’s still in it…for now.

Addressing a crowd of about 200, Ben Carson said he’s not going anywhere just yet.

“I am not ready to quit,” he said, opening not by addressing his support in the polls, but rather touting his support on social media.

“We have millions of Americans saying on Facebook you cannot leave us.”

But towards the end, he sounded more resigned, in what sounded like an endorsement of the eventual nominee.

“Even if we get a very imperfect candidate in there, it’s unlikely that they will destroy America,” Carson said. “If we go home and we don’t vote, I do believe that America will be destroyed…it’s hard for me to say that but you have to deal with reality. God’s timetable is different than our timetable.”

ABC's DAVID CAPLAN: Donald Trump took to the stage at a watch party at his Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, Tuesday night.

"This is has been amazing evening...I want to congratulate [Cruz] on winning Texas, that was an excellent win," Trump said. "We are going to make America great again, folks."

He added, "This was an exciting evening, it's great to be here with my friend...I know it was a tough night for Marco Rubio, I know he's a lightweight."

Trump, who owns a home in West Palm Beach, spoke on a stage lit with blue and red lights in the luxury golf resort's White and Gold Ballroom, which features ornate gold decorations lining the walls and ceiling. Read more here.

by Veronica.Stracqualursi3/2/2016 3:19:09 AM

.@tedcruz: "I congratulate Donald Trump on a victory tonight but we are the one campaign that has beaten Donald Trump, once, twice, 3 times"

ABC's CARLY ROMAN: Some voters were looking to stick it to the competition as theyexited their Super Tuesday polling locations. In what has become an Americantradition, voters from across the country donned "I voted" stickersafter they cast their votes. Stickers may feature anything from the Americanflag to a Georgia peach. Even dogs aren't excluded, with some four-legged"voters" boasting "I voted" stickers on their foreheads andshoulders.

ABC's JEFF NAFT: Celebrating projected wins in Texas and Oklahoma on Super Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz labeled his victories as a central turning point for his campaign. The Texas senator called for his fellow Republican candidates to consolidate behind him and take on billionaire Donald Trump together.

“For the candidates who have not yet won a state, who have not racked up significant delegates, I ask you to prayerfully consider our coming together. Uniting. We welcome you on our team united as one. That is the only way to beat Donald Trump. Our campaign beats Donald Trump resoundingly. For that to happen we must come together.” Read more here.

If you judge the party by its voters, as opposed to its leaders, the Republican Party belongs to Donald Trump. With at least five wins Tuesday, and running against a still-divided opposition, Trump is taking control the old-fashioned way: by getting more votes than the others.

Republican voters want an outsider who “tells it like it is” and will build a border wall and ban Muslims from entering the country. They may not have known they wanted those things until Trump landed on the scene – but that’s the point of a candidacy that is shaking a major party’s foundations.

Super Tuesday provided convincing evidence that Trump’s appeal extends across Cracker Barrel territory and well into Whole Foods land, to borrow a phrase used by FiveThirtyEight.com. Two states where Trump romped – rolling up some of his biggest margins yet -- tell that story.

Massachusetts is a New England state that’s the fifth wealthiest in the nation. Alabama is a Southern state that’s the fifth poorest. On Tuesday, they formed unlikely poles holding up a broadening Trump tent. Read more here.

ABC's RYAN STRUYK: We are still awaiting a finalized delegate count at the end of the night, but right now, Clinton is leading Sanders by more pledged delegates than Obama’s widest lead over Clinton among pledged delegates in 2008. Obama’s largest pledged delegate lead of 2008 was 152 delegates after the North Carolina primary on May 6. She’s now up by 179. The Clinton campaign is already celebrating.

ABC's PAOLA CHAVEZ and JENNIFER HANSLER:Donald Trump’sSuper Tuesdayspeech had all the optics of a picture-perfect election event: a gilded room, a podium with his name in front a row of American flags. Then former presidential candidate and now-Trump supporterChris Christietook the stage.

“He's shown himself to be a fighter,” Christie said of the GOP frontrunner. “A leader who speaks plainly to the American people.”

But when Trump took to the podium and Christie took a prominent position just behind the GOP frontrunner, the chatter on social media quickly turned. Twitter users were quick to seize upon Christie’s facial expression during parts of Trump’s speech, which many described as sad, scared, or miserable. The hashtag #FreeChristie took off. Read more here.